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History takes flight in the second book of Naomi Novik’s deliciously addictive series which captures the Napoleonic period perfectly and skillfully layers the timeline with imagination by adding a Dragon Air Force to the battle for England.

Captain William Laurence of the British Air Corps and his dragon, Temeraire, begin their slow voyage to China, fearful that upon landing they will be forced to part by Imperial decree.

Temeraire is a Celestial dragon, the most highly-prized of all draconic breeds; famed for their intelligence, agility and most of all for the Divine Wind – their terrible roar capable of shattering the heavy timbers of war ships, shattering woodland and destroying other dragons mid-flight. Temeraire’s egg was captured and claimed by the British at sea, but he was meant to be the companion of the Emperor Napoleon and not captained by a mere officer in the British Air Corps.

The Chinese have demanded his return and the British cannot refuse them – they cannot afford to provoke the asian super-power into allying themselves with the French – even if it costs them the most powerful weapon in their arsenal and inflicts the most unimaginable pain upon Laurence and his dragon.

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Review

'I took a jaundiced view of dragon books until Novik won me over with her first novel. the combination of military history, sympathetic characters, and engaging style makes this series great, intelligent fun.’The Times

‘Plenty of intrigue, swordplay, exotic locations, plausible invention. In short a treat.’The Telegraph

‘These are beautifully written novels, not only fresh, original and fast-paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart.’Peter Jackson

‘Novik has stirred the passions with a genre-busting historical fantasy of the first order.'Sunday Sport

'In the best tradition of fantasy, historical fiction and nautical novels.'Guardian

Review

'I took a jaundiced view of dragon books until Novik won me over with her first novel. the combination of military history, sympathetic characters, and engaging style makes this series great, intelligent fun.' The Times 'Plenty of intrigue, swordplay, exotic locations, plausible invention. In short a treat.' The Telegraph 'These are beautifully written novels, not only fresh, original and fast-paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart.' Peter Jackson 'Novik has stirred the passions with a genre-busting historical fantasy of the first order.' Sunday Sport 'In the best tradition of fantasy, historical fiction and nautical novels.' Guardian

Top customer reviews

In the second of the Temeraire series, Novik widens the scenario from the first book. The Chinese want Temeraire back and eventually, if reluctantly, agree that Laurence can accompany him to China. En route, there are assassination attempts on board the transport ship, and storms to contend with - both physical and emotional.

I love Temeraire and really like what Novik does in this book. Admittedly, we miss the other dragons and their captains, but to compensate there are interesting developments in the relationship between Temeraire and Laurence when they arrive in China.

If you're looking for something action-packed and fast-paced then this may disappoint. Much of the interest comes from the interaction of the characters, not least the political machinations and the confrontation between English and Chinese.

Temeraire's education into what it means to be a dragon in China is done very well, and his maturation leads to some nice interplay with Laurence.

So this is a slower book, in lots of ways, than the first but I still found it completely engrossing.

The characters are nicely done, the emotional ties done with subtlety but this book is twice the size it should be. It's either lack of discipline or a cynical effort to bloat the story into more books, who knows. I struggled to maintain interest

It is 1805 and the Napoleonic Wars are raging. Trafalgar has been fought and won, but Austerlitz is soon to come. Fleets and armies, and overhead flights of dragons claw, spit and hurl fire in defence of their nations. Novik has created a real twist by combining fantasy with alternate history.

Throne of Jade continues the story of Captain Laurence and his dragon Temeraire, as they travel to China to face the threat of being separated. It is Novik's credit that she faces the situation she created in the first book head on, rather than waving it off between books. Temeraire is a chinese dragon, captured in the egg from the French, who obtained it in mysterious circumstances, and now the Chinese are demanding it back. Novik clearly knows her history, telling us that the danger to trade from the Far East means this has to be taken seriously, and soon Laurence and Temeraire are being shipped off to China to an uncertain fate.

Comparisions with Patrick O'Brien's style of plotting start to become irresistable, as the long voyage is used to bring out characters and the machinations of the Chinese. However, Novik lacks the skill to skip the travelogue where necessary, so the middle third of the book drags a little, livened up by a combat that seems a little contrived.

Once in China, we see Temeraire at his best, as a real rounded character pondering the place of dragons in a human world, but maintaining a real and believable relationship with his human pilot, Laurence. There have been many attempts in fantasy to portray relationships between man and monster, and Novik makes one of the best.

The Chinese section of the book produces the climax of the plot, and the plotting that is revealed to have been going on. The villain and his motivation is a little too easy to spot in the end, and combined with the flabby midsection of the book drags it down from five-star status, but is still well worth reading.

At the climax of her debut novel, Naomi Novik revealed that the dragon Temeraire was the rarest kind in the world -- a Chinese Celestial.

But the discovery of the dragon's true nature comes with some pretty nasty problems attached, as William Laurence discovers in "Throne of Jade." While this book -- which is about 75% travel-by-sea -- could have been a boring slog of traveling details, Novik instead infuses it with political and cultural clashes, a creepy conspiracy on Chinese shores, and a haughty prince determined to separate Temeraire from his rider.

With the discovery of Temeraire's breed, the haughty Prince Yongxing demands that Temeraire be returned to the Imperial family -- and the bowing-scraping-groveling diplomats are inclined to obey him. But Temeraire and Laurence are having none of that. And when they can't tempt away Temeraire, both dragon and rider are sent to China on a very large boat, along with the prince and his entourage, in hopes that they can sort out the mess.

Unfortunately it's not a boring trip for Laurence, who has to dodge assassinations, storms, and the prince's ongoing quest to lure away Temeraire away from his rider. And China turns out to be no less dangerous as Laurence learns the reason that Temeraire's egg was sent to Napoleon, and the malevolent prince's true plans -- to get power for himself, using Temeraire as a pawn.

Jewel-encrusted dragons wander through gardens, streets and palaces, Englishmen wander into the ornate lands of the East, and a silent political struggle rages with Temeraire in the center. Having explored a dragon-augmented England in her debut, Naomi Novik refocuses her attention on China in "Throne of Jade." Consider Laurence a stranger in a strange land.

Most of the story is spent on a boat, which admittedly sounds boring. But Novik's intricate writing and plot twists keeps things interesting, along with her nimble sense of humour (such as Temeraire asking where human babies come from). Lots of culture clashes between the Chinese entourage and English crew, and Laurence's constant tug-of-war with Yongxing over the naive Temeraire.

And her formal style really blossoms when they get to China, lovingly describing everything from beautiful gardens to the ghostly albino Celestial. After the slow-building journey, the plot really blossoms when the ship gets to China. The conspiracies and secrets are finally figured out, and the string of assassinations and plots climaxes with a disastrous attempt at a coup.

Laurence spends this book haunted by the possibility of being separated from Temeraire, and especially worrying about Yongxing seducing him into a culture that literally worships the Celestials. Temeraire also continues to grow, learning voraciously (and developing a taste for Chinese food) while remaining steadfastly loyal to his beloved Laurence.

And there's colourful string of supporting characters: the sneering prince and his kindly brother, the toadying diplomats, and even the Celestial relatives of Temeraire's. One of them turns out to be quite a surprise.

"Throne of Jade" is an excellent follow-up to Novik's brilliant tale of draconic warfare, and a journey across Asia is no less interesting.